A Halloween Nightmare
by Mogo Girl
Summary: Morgan/Garcia. Halloween is a time meant for scary things, but no one can even imagine the horrors about to happen to Penelope. Will even Morgan be able to save her from this Halloween? Rated T, perhaps more later. Mostly for violence and language.
1. Chapter 1

A HALLOWEEN NIGHTMARE

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CRIMINAL MINDS OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS. JUST THE CRAZY LITTLE PLOT BUNNIES MY MUSE DIRECTS ME TO WRITE

_This story takes place immediately after THE GOOD EARTH episode and contains spoilers. It has been a really long time since my muse has been around and I have no idea where on earth she is taking me with this story other than it's definitely Morgan/Garcia and the muse is evidently going to put poor Penelope in trouble once again. I suspect there will be lots of angst and comfort to come in this one. I hope you'll join me for the ride. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!_

_Also, I couldn't really tell what Penelope had dressed up as at the end of the episode so I'm taking the liberty of saying she was a cat. I can just see her all dressed up in some sexy cat outfit _

The Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI was glad to be home from their case just in time for Halloween. The last case in Oregon had been a horrible one with a deranged mother who kidnapped men, fed them livestock feed, killed them and ground them up as fertilizer to use in her garden so she could feed the produce to her daughter. After the gruesomeness of this case, even the scariest of Halloween hijinks would pale in comparison.

Upon their return they were happy to hear that JJ's son, Henry, had decided to take part in Trick or Treating festivities after all since earlier he was too scared to do so. With a little convincing from JJ and costume assistance from Godmother Penelope, however, he had decided to dress as his favorite member of the team and fight the "monsters" with his awesome powers. Seeing Henry in his Spencer costume was just what the team needed to lift their spirits.

Soon, with their paperwork filed, the team began to head out to their prospective activities for the night. Penelope, already in full make-up and costume upon the team's return, would head out with JJ, Will and Henry for trick or treating; Alex was headed home to Skype with her ever-traveling boyfriend; Spencer said he had an important phone call to make himself; Hotch was off to pick up Beth and take Jack trick or treating ; and Rossi and Derek had decided to forego all the Halloween foolery and meet at their favorite local pub and have a meal and a few drinks.

As everyone was headed out the doors, Penelope hung behind telling JJ, "I'll meet up with you in the parking garage in just a minute."

"Okay, Pen, but don't be long. Henry's ready to get to trick or treating!", JJ smiled back as Henry began to tug her out the door.

Heading back towards the bullpen, Penelope quickly spotted who she had been looking for. "Hey Hotstuff", she purred as she walked up to Derek at his desk. "What's this I hear about all of your treats turning you down tonight?"

Penelope had overheard Derek telling just that very thing to Rossi a few minutes before.

"Nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about, Baby Girl", Morgan said as he reached over and tapped her on the tip of her nose.

"Well, I hate thinking of you being all alone on Halloween!", Penelope said with a concerned look on her face. "I can't have my best friend spending the greatest of all holidays alone!"

"I won't be alone, Baby Girl. Rossi and I are going to O'Malley's and have a few drinks. That's good enough for me. You know I'm not into all this Halloween stuff like you are, anyways. Don't worry, go and have fun with Henry. I'll be fine. I promise." Derek flashed her one of his killer smiles as he picked up his jacket from the back of his desk chair. "Now get out of here. You don't want to keep Henry waiting!"

"Derek Morgan, don't you lie to me!", Penelope said while pointing a finger in his face. "I once heard you say that Halloween was one of the best holidays because you liked getting a Halloween Honey and having them snuggle up during a scary movie."

"Damn, Baby Girl, have you had Reid teaching you some of his eidetic memory tricks? How long ago was that?"

"Never mind how long ago it was, Derek. I heard your say it. So here's what's going to happen. I'm going trick or treating with Henry and then I have just a few stops to make to say hi to some friends at a coupl e of parties and then I'm headed over to your place with a couple of scary movies. I'll be your Halloween Honey tonight." Penelope laid down the law to her best friend. "And don't you dare say no…I'll see you at 10:00!", Penelope interrupted Derek as she saw he was about to protest.

Throwing up his hands in resignation, Derek realized it would be impossible to argue with his hard-headed best friend. Anyways, she looked so darn cute all made up like a cat in her Halloween makeup, how could he say no to such an invitation. "Alright, alright. I surrender. But don't worry about the movies, I have several I keep at home."

"I just bet you do, Hot Stuff" Penelope giggled with a wink as she turned to go. "See you at 10:00. And have the popcorn ready!"

Derek chuckled as he watched her leave the BAU bullpen in a flourish of blonde hair, Halloween makeup and laughter. He never could say no to Penelope. She was his best friend and the one who kept him sane during all of the horrifying things the team had to deal with on a daily basis. While they never dated, they were both insatiable flirts and loved spending time with one another. While everyone around them realized they would make the perfect couple the two of them seemed content with the close friendship they had developed. Even so, everyone knew, you didn't mess with Penelope if you didn't want to have to deal with Derek Morgan. He was her self-appointed protector and guardian from all things evil. And she paid him back in spades by being his God-Given Solace, as he once called her. Penelope had even just ended a 5 year long relationship with her boyfriend when the subject of marriage arose. She would never admit it, but buried in the back of her mind, she knew her feelings for Derek had something to do with it. Derek, if asked, would also insist he was more like Penelope's big brother than anything else yet In spite of himself Derek smiled as he headed towards his vehicle in the parking garage. "Well, maybe, this isn't going to be such a lonely Halloween after all!", he thought.

Little did he, or anyone else, know the horrors this night would hold before it was all over.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds…but if they would just ask my opinion once in a while

Penelope was in a joyous mood. There was nothing that she loved better than Halloween and the chance to spend it with her favorite people. First Henry, her beloved God-son, whom she spoiled rotten at every chance she got and then later would be time spent with her favorite man in the world, Derek Morgan. How had she become so lucky she wondered as she stared up at the fortuitous full moon that shone down on all of the adorable trick or treaters.

"Earth to Penelope", JJ practically shouted in her ear, bringing Penelope's full attention back to the matters at hand.

"Oh, yes, what is it JJ?", Penelope asked as she looked at her best girlfriend.

"Where were you just now, Pen? Henry's been trying to show you his pumpkin full of candy since we left the last house."

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Penelope smiled down at Henry as she ruffled his unruly blond hair. " I was just admiring the moon and thinking what a great time I'm having. Now let's see all of your goodies!"

JJ and Will grinned at Penelope as Will observed, " I swear, Penelope, I don't know who is having a better time, you or the kids!"

"Well it is Halloween you know!", Penelope exclaimed. "When else can we dress up, act crazy and eat all the candy we want with no excuses!" Not that Penelope ever had a hard time expressing herself. Penelope was always colorful and unique in her clothing choices, even at work, but for her, it just worked. She never shied away from who she was and that's what people seemed to admire about her the most.

"I really hate to break this up but it's almost 8:30 and with all the sugar and excitement he's had, I'm going to be lucky to get Henry to bed before 11:00!. I think it's time we get going," explained JJ as she picked Henry up.

In unison, both Penelope and Henry looked at JJ and said, "Aw, do we hafta?"

Laughing, JJ stuck to her guns and insisted it was time to go.

"I do have some other places I have to go and then I told Morgan I'd meet him at his place at 10:00 so I guess you're right, " Penelope bemoaned. "But Henry, I promise I'll come over tomorrow and help you go through all the candy. We'll pick out all the good stuff!" Penelope smiled as she gave Henry a hug and then kissed both Will and JJ on the cheek. She waved as they headed on their way.

Sighing and taking one more glance at the moon, Penelope headed off to where Esther, her classic Cadillac, was parked.

As she had told Morgan earlier, she had been invited to a few parties. While she had originally planned on going, plans with her "Hot Stuff" always trumped anything else. But she didn't want to be rude so she decided to just stop in and say hi to her friends and then head out to Morgan's house. By 9:30 she had made her last stop and was headed back to the side street where she had left Esther.

By this time of night, most of the young trick or treaters had been taken home, and many of the parties were just starting so there weren't too many people actually on the street. The alley her car was parked in was quite dark but with the light of the full moon, she was able to see without too much problem.

As she was bending down to unlock her car, Penelope heard a noise behind her. Turning to look she saw a man in what appeared to be a zombie costume approaching her from the back of her car. Any other night she would have been scared out of her wits to see someone with a blood streaked face and tattered clothing approaching her but It was Halloween after all. Little did she know that the zombie-costumed man had been keeping a close eye on the sexy kitten he had spotted at a party about a half hour earlier.

When he first spotted her, he couldn't believe his eyes. "Caroline", he had muttered to himself as illusions of his old girlfriend flooded his brain. In reality, Caroline, had died a year ago to the day. After a drunken night of Halloween partying, wearing a cat costume similar to the one Penelope now wore, she had gotten behind the wheel of her car and driven herself over an embankment to her death. Her boyfriend, Garrett Phillips, had never been able to accept her death and had driven himself to the brink of insanity ever since. Upon spotting Penelope, he had convinced himself that his Caroline had returned and he was going to make sure he never lost her again.

So, assuming he was just another partier heading out Penelope gave the man a quick smile, said "great costume" and turned back to the lock on her car door. Before she knew what was happening, Penelope felt a hand tighten over her neck from behind and another clamp over her mouth. She struggled and and tried to scream until she felt the prick on the side of her neck. Then all went black.

_Thanks for reading…and don't forget to review. More to come soon!_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own Criminal Minds. _

_Thanks to everyone for the wonderful reviews, follows and favorites! It makes me happy to see them and keeps my muse working _

By 9:30, Morgan had returned from dinner with Rossi and was preparing for Penelope's arrival. Knowing that Penelope wasn't the blood and gore type (and didn't they all see enough of that at work, anyways?) he had picked out two thriller classics, Rear Window and Psycho, for their Halloween movie-thon. He had even gone so far as to stop on the way home and get a copy of Rocky Horror Picture Show, one of Penelope's favorites and a movie he didn't really enjoy, just in case that was what she wanted to watch. As he puttered around the kitchen getting drinks and popcorn ready, he realized he was humming to himself. Why was it that every time he knew his Baby Girl was coming around, his mood instantly lightened and he found himself smiling? It was something he had taken for granted for a long time but tonight, something felt different.

Maybe it was the fact that Penelope was coming over as an unattached woman once again. While he hated to see the pain that she had gone through during her break-up with Kevin, he had to admit to himself that he wasn't all that disappointed it had happened. He was never particularly fond of Kevin and had never felt that the man had given Penelope the attention and romance she deserved. His Baby Girl deserved to be showered in love and to be swept off her feet. Maybe next time around she would find such a man. Maybe….there was something he could do about that after all of these years.

By 10:15, Morgan found himself pacing the floor and looking out the windows. Penelope was a lot of things but late was rarely one of them. When she told you she'd be there, she always was and never late without a really good reason. At 10:23, with still no Penelope on his doorstep, he tried her cell phone with no answer. Now the hairs on the back of his neck really began to tingle. _Something wasn't right._ At 10:30, after trying Penelope's cell phone twice more and trying her home number, he called JJ's house.

"Hey, Will. Sorry to bother you so late but I was just wondering if Penelope was still with you guys?"

"Penelope? No, Morgan, we brought Henry home about two hours ago and Penelope said she had a few places to visit and then was heading to your place. Hang on, I'll ask JJ if she's heard from her."

After a few unbearable seconds, Will came back on the line and told Derek that JJ hadn't heard from her either. He promised to call if they did and assured Derek that everything was probably okay. Penelope had probably just lost track of time at one of her parties and couldn't hear her cell phone. Derek half-heartedly agreed and hung up.

By 11:00, however, and still no word from Penelope, Derek knew something had to be terribly wrong. She wouldn't just not show up and not call. Derek had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach and couldn't stand to hang around the house any longer. He had to DO something. Leaving a note where he knew she would find it just in case she showed up, Derek lept in his truck and headed out in search of his best friend.

The streets were full of costumed partiers and all sorts of Halloween tricks and treats were in full swing. There couldn't be worse conditions in which to find someone in. Making things even more difficult, Derek really didn't know much about Penelope's friends outside of work so he really didn't have much of an idea on where to start. Feeling desperate, he decided to start in the neighborhood where he knew Will and JJ had taken Henry trick or treating. He would slowly work his way out in circles from there.

By 12:15 he had all but given up when he turned down a side street about 4 miles from where Penelope had left Will and JJ. Parked down at the end of the street he could just make out Esther, Penelope's car. He was sure it was hers, there definitely wasn't another one like it in the city. Pulling up behind the car he parked and got out. Approaching the vehicle the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach grew and he was afraid of what he might find. He couldn't explain it, he just knew something had happened.

At first glance, all appeared in order. There didn't appear to be any signs of a struggle or anything out of place. Opening the door, he slipped in behind the wheel of Penelope's car. Looking around he caught something out of the corner of his eye on the passenger floorboard. Reaching beneath the seat he grabbed the object and pulled it out. Alarm bells were going off in his head as he recognized the object as the handbag Penelope had left the BAU with earlier that night. Looking inside, he found her cell phone, her wallet with about $60 cash, her driver's license, her house keys, her tablet and all the things she found necessary to have on her at all times. Realizing she would have never left these things behind for any reason, Derek quickly reached for his cell phone. Dialing one of the preset numbers he was surprised to find his own hand shaking as he waiting for the person on the other end to pick up.

"Hotchner"

"Hotch, it's Morgan. We've got a major problem. Penelope's missing and I think she's been taken against her will," Morgan said without any delay as soon as Hotch answered. Morgan quickly explained to his unit chief how the night had unfolded. "I'm on Davis Ave, near the east end. I think you better get everyone together."

"On our way Morgan, don't move until we get there."

Waiting for his team to arrive, Morgan decided he better get out of the car. While he had probably already completely contaminated the scene, he figured there still might be a longshot of finding someone's fingerprints or some other evidence. As he was stepping out, he felt something under his shoe. Bending down he looked around to see what he had stepped on. When he saw the hair band with the kitten ears attached laying on the ground next to the car door, he knew for sure his Baby Girl was in real trouble and that he needed to find her fast. But where the hell do you start looking for someone on a night when nothing and no one are as they seem?

_TBC…Please review and let me know what you think!_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds…yada, yada, yada_

Penelope rolled over and struggled to open her eyes. "_Whatever it was I drank last night must have been a doozy! I feel like I've been run over by a truck!", _she thought to herself as she slowly tried to raise herself to a sitting position. Cracking open one eye she quickly closed it again as the light of the full moon shined directly into her face through the window across from her bed. Holding her hand over her eyes as a shade, she once again forced them to slowly open. As her mind adjusted to the light and her surroundings, she began to feel a sense of dread as she realized she was not in her own bed or even her own apartment for that matter.

"_What the hell…"_ she wondered as she slowly turned and put her feet on the floor. Nothing here looked familiar. Carefully standing up she began to look around what appeared to be a sparsely furnished bedroom in some type of cabin. All of the walls were made of logs and the furniture was all rustic, with homemade quilts on the bed, one crudely constructed bedside table bearing a plastic pitcher full of water and one papercup, some tattered lace curtains tacked over the window and a broken down reclining chair in the corner. . Under her feet was what appeared to be a homemade rag rug of some type.

It was still dark outside so she assumed it was still Halloween night but there was no clock in the room and she had somehow lost her watch. Trying to think back, the last thing she could remember was trick or treating with Henry, JJ and Will. How the hell did she end up in this unfamiliar place?

And then things started to clear and Penelope gasped as the memories were released from the confines of her muddled brain. She remembered going to her friend Rachel's party, staying long enough to say hello to a few people and then heading to a party being thrown by Karen Simpson, another tech in the FBI analyst pool. Like the first party, she had stayed only a short while, saying her hellos, having a quick drink and then leaving to head over to Derek's house. She remembered heading out to her car, unlocking it and then all became a little blurry. Something about a zombie like creature tickled the memories at the back of her brain but she couldn't quite remember why. Then she woke up here.

"_Garcie, what kind of mess have you gotten yourself into this time?" _she thought as she headed towards the bedroom door. _"Girl, you have got to stop drinking that wine!" _She made her way over to the bedroom door but when she went to open it she found it was locked. She immediately began searching the door for some type of bolt or lock but was unable to find one. A couple of more tugs convinced her she had been locked in from the outside.

Penelope's breath began to quicken as she slowly was coming to realize that this was no ordinary drunken party aftermath she was dealing with. Trying not to panic, she quickly ran over to the window. Pulling back the lace curtains she tried opening the window. It was either stuck or locked. Her first thought was to break the window but upon closer inspection she could make out vertical bars on the outside of the window frame. Even if she broke the pane, she wouldn't be able to leave.

"Oh my God, what's happening?", she said out loud as tears began to form in her eyes and her heart beat started to race in fear. Turning around, she made a quick scan of the room. Seeing the light switch on the wall, she stepped over and switched it on bathing the room in a dim overhead light from the dusty ceiling light. "_My phone, I've got to get to my phone and call Derek", _was her first thought. Penelope began tearing the room apart searching for her purse, her phone, her computer tablet, any of those things she always carried with her. She left nothing unturned, unopened or unmoved trying to find anything that would give her some contact with the outside world. After several minutes of frantic searching the room looked as if a tornado had gone through it but nothing had been found.

Penelope was on the verge of complete panic and breakdown. She was in trouble, bad trouble and she had no idea where she was or how she got here. Another look outside her window gained her no further information as all she could see was a line of pine trees that looked as if they led back into the deepest, darkest forest she had ever seen.

Then it dawned on her…_"someone must have brought me here. But who?"_,

"The Zombie!" she whispered out loud. Now she remembered, the man dressed as the zombie coming into the side street where she had parked her car, telling him that he had a nice costume and then a pain in her neck, and then….here. Instinctually, her hand went to the side of neck, feeling for something to give her a clue but she could feel nothing. Another quick scan of the room told her there was no mirror available. Penelope's whole body was suddenly overcome with shaking from the uncontrollable sobbing that was now escaping from her. She sunk to the floor in despair.

Without even thinking, Penelope began to scream for help as loud as she could. She went over and began banging on the walls, door and window yelling for anyone to come and help her. Logically she knew the results of such actions would do one of two things, call the attention of the man that brought her here in the first place, which she didn't want; or nothing at all but emotionally , she didn't care. She just wanted OUT.

Soon her voice became hoarse and it became evident that no one was coming either from within or without of the cabin she was evidently entrapped within. _"Damnit, Garcia, this is not doing you any good. Pull yourself together and THINK! What would Derek or Hotch tell you to do right now?" _she questioned herself as she rubbed her knuckles that were now bloodied from the pounding on the walls and door.

Garcia recognized that fact that if she was going to get out of this situation, she was going to first have to save her strength and start thinking rationally. Her mind quickly went back to Derek's many attempts to teach her self defense and how to recognize imminent danger. _"Why didn't I listen more?"_ she angrily asked herself as she tried to remember things he had told her.

"_You must find a way to even the playing field, Garcia", _she remembered Derek telling her. _"If you can't match someone in strength, then you match them in wits and with surprise." _

"Okay, Garcia. You may not have physical strength but you are smart," Penelope said out loud trying to pep herself up with her own words. "C'mon, think! There has to be something here you can use for when this bastard comes back!" Giving the sparse room a quick once-over, Garcia took a second look at the broken down recliner, an idea taking form in the back of her mind. Taking a hold of the chair she was able to turn it on it's side and looking underneath, she found just what she was hoping to see, a couple of good sized, rusty springs.

Quickly, Penelope set to work, loosening the springs from the chair. It took a few cuts and broken fingernails but she was finally able to get the springs loose from the framing. She had her weapons. Turning the chair back right side up she was satisfied that no one would be able to tell they were missing.

Turning quickly to the bed, she straightened out the sheets and quilts she had ransacked earlier and climbed into bed setting the springs on each side of her, underneath the covers where they couldn't be seen. She would be ready for whomever was going to return for her. "_Oh God, what if no one returns…" _she thought. "NO! I won't allow such things to enter my mind! They will return and I will be ready!" she declared loudly to no one but herself. Hearing Derek's mantra of keeping her strength up again in the back of her mind, she reached over and took a cupful of the water on the bedside table and drank it. It felt good going down her hoarse throat. "I'm ready you zombie bastard! Come and get me!", she exclaimed to the closed and locked door as each hand gripped a spring underneath the covers.

_TBC_

_As always, thanks for the great reviews and all of the follows and favorites. Each one warms my heart! _

_It will probably be Monday before I can post again so I hope this chapter is enough to take you through the weekend. The rest of this story is slowly starting to take shape in my mind and I think the muse has a few surprises up her sleeves for all of you. Penelope's nightmare has just begun and I hope all of you will stick around as we travel through it together. Thank you!_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, but I wouldn't mind borrowing Mr. Moore for a day or two :) _

An hour after his initial call to Hotch, Derek was frustrated, angry and feeling very guilty that he was no closer now to finding Penelope than he had been when he left his house in search of her almost three hours earlier. The team had arrived in full force, the crime scene investigation unit had been calledout,the neighborhood canvassed and still very little information had been gathered.

"Dammit, Hotch! We have to be missing something!" Derek raged as he paced agitatedly. "A grown woman doesn't just disappear in the midst of hundreds of people in downtown Quantico and no one sees a damn thing. It doesn't make sense!"

"Morgan,I need you to calm do..." Hotch started but was interrupted as Alex called him over to where the CSU was processing Penelope's car.

"What is it, Alex?" Hotch said in his matter-of-fact way as he and Derek headed her way.

"The CSU team has picked up a unique thumb print on the outside of the driver's side door. We figure it might be our guy since it's the only one that doesn't seem to match the majority of the others that we assume to be Penelope's or Derek's", Alex explained.

"Get it to the crime lab and tell them to process it asap!" Hotch ordered.

Alex answered with a succinct, "it's already on the way".

"Alright, I think we've done all we can do here. Alex, get the others and head back to the BAU, " Hotch ordered. "Derek, you can ride back with me."

Twenty minutes later the six members of the BAU team were seated in the war room. It was unusually quiet and a palpable air of tension enveloped the room as they all waited for instruction from their team leader.

"Okay, everyone, we're going to go around the table and I want to hear everything each of you found out or know or even think you know from the last hour. JJ, to keep things chronological, we'll start with you," Hotch directed his team. At this point, he knew there was next to nothing to go on but hoped that hearing what little they did know out loud might trigger something in someone's thought process.

JJ proceeded to give a quick recap of her night of trick or treating with her son and Penelope. "She seemed perfectly fine and happy when she left us and nothing appeared out of the ordinary," JJ concluded.

"What exactly did she say about where she was going?" Rossi questioned.

JJ shook her head and said "other than she had promised to meet Morgan at his place later after making the rounds at a couple of parties she was supposed to attend, nothing," JJ snuck a look across the table at Morgan as she spoke his name just in time to see him run his palm across the top of his bald head...a sure signal that he was agitated and worried.

"Okay, JJ, thanks. Next?" Hotch looked around table but before the next person could speak a young woman about the Garcia's age appeared in the doorway of the war room. She was wearing an FBI employee badge and the remnants of what appeared to a witch costume of some sort.

"Uhm, Agent Hotchner?" she timidly asked.

"That's me. Can I help you?" Hotch answered in his usual stoic manner.

"Actually, I was told that maybe I could help you," the girl responded. "My name is Karen Simpson and I'm also a tech here at Quantico. Penelope and I are friends and she was at my party earlier tonight."

Upon hearing the information, Derek was immediately out of his seat and standing in front of the young woman. "When? Where was the party? How was she?" The questions came rolling out of him like rapid fire from a Gatling gun. On a normal day, Derek could be an intimidating figure of a man but standing over this woman and shooting off questions, she was downright frightened of the agent and she visibly shook as he approached.

"Morgan, step back!" Hotch broke in. "I'm sorry, Ms. Simpson, but as I'm sure you can understand, we are all quite upset about Penelope's disappearance and are just trying to figure out what has happened. Would you mind sitting down and answering a few questions about tonight for us?" Hotch held out the chair that Penelope usually occupied for Karen to sit in.

AS the tech proceeded to take the seat offered to her by Hotch, the sick feeling that Derek had been feeling in the pit of his stomach on and off all night returned with a vengence. Seeing another tech, especially a female one, sitting in Penelope's spot filled Derek with the irrational fear that they were never going to see his Baby Girl again and he would forever be looking at someone else in her spot. It was not something he was sure he would ever be able to handle. He had to look away from Karen and concentrate on the wall behind her just to keep himself together at this point.

"Now, Karen, can you tell us where you live and what time Penelepe arrived at your party?" Hotch asked. "Well, I'm not exactly sure but I would say sometime around 9:00 or slightly after. Oh, and I live in the Merriweather Apartments on State Street."

"Well that would explain why her car was parked on Davis," Reid chimed in as he took a quick look at the city map behind him on the bulletin board. "State comes off the west end of Davis. Garcia must have had to park at the other end of Davis and walk over to the party."

"Yeah, a lot of people would park there when I had parties," Karen confirmed. "Okay, Karen, great. Now, did you speak to Penelope while she was there?" Hotch inquired.

"Yeah, but just for a minute. She apologized for not being able to stay but said she was expected somewhere else at 10:00. She told me she had just dropped by long enough to wish everyone a Happy Halloween."

"Did she seem nervous or out of sorts in any way?" Rossi cut in with a question.

Karen shook her head as she thought about her answer. "No, I don't think so. Maybe a little rushed becuase she said she had just come from another party and was trying to make sure she saw everyone before making her 10:00 meeting with another friend. But other than that, she seemed like her normal, happy go lucky self." Everyone of the profilers at the table could almost hear Derek cringe as Karen described Penelope.

Karen, just one more question," Hotch said as Karen turned to face him. "Can you remember what Penelope had with her, if anything, when you saw her?"

"Uhm, with her? no, nothing...I mean other than her purse, she didn't have anything that I saw," Karen responded.

"Okay, Karen, thank you, you've been very helpful", Hotch thanked the girl as he rose and led her to the door. "Would you mind sticking around for a little while? We may have other questions we need to ask."

"Sure, no problem, Agent. I'll be in my office on the 4th floor if you need me." With that statement, she headed out towards the bullpen.

"Well, that got us frickin' nowhere!" Derek exclaimed as he watch the tech leave. "C'mon Hotch, what are we doing just sitting around here doing nothing? We need to be out there looking for Penelope!" Penelope had now been missing for almost for hours and in Derek's mind, he knew every minute longer she was gone the worse his chances were of getting her back.

"Derek, I understand how you are feeling but it's not going to do us one damn bit of good to just go out there and wander aimlessly with nothing to go on. Now, you either get your emotions in check or I'll sit you out," Hotch finished his declaration with a hard stare in Derek's direction. He knew the special bond Derek and Penelope had, he had witnessed it almost every day for the past eight years, but he couldn't allow Derek's emotions to run this investigation. There was too much at stake.

"Yeah, okay, Hotch, I get it" Derek said with resignation as he slumped back in his chair. Reid reached over and put a hand on his friend's shoulder trying to give whatever support he could.

"Okay, are we all on board here now?" Hotch asked with a sweeping glance around the room. "Good, so we did confirm one thing with what Ms. Simpson told us. Penelope evidently had her bag with her at the party so we have to assume she wouldn't have left it whereever else she intended to go. As much as I hate to, I think we can officially report this as a kidnapping of a Federal Agent at this point. I want every available local, state and Federal officer in this area brought up to speed on this. Let's get all the help we can. Rossi, will you get the ball rolling on the inter-agency cooperation?" Hotch asked.

"You got it, Aaron."

Before anything else could be said, a crime lab technician appeared at their door holding what appeared to be a criminal record jacket. "We've got an ID on the thumbprint!"

_TBC_

_Well I know I said no more until Monday but I just figured out how to upload from my iPad, so you're in luck, more writing this weekend! Yeah. _ _I'll try to get the next chapter up before the end of the _ _weekend. You'll want to stay tuned for that one to see what kind of predicament Penelope ends up in!_ _Thanks again for all of your wonderful comments. The muse is happy :)_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: All together now...I don't own Criminal Minds_

_So glad that everyone is enjoying my story...here's where the you-know-what hits the fan for Penelope. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)_

Daylight had long come and still Penelope found herself alone in her bedroom prison. She had no way of telling how long she had been locked up in the room but figured it had be 12 hours or more at this point. Periodically she would doze but afraid of not hearing her captor come back, she never allowed herself to sleep soundly or for long. She was tired, hungry, frightened and going crazy with the silence.

Shortly after dawn, she had taken another look out of the barred window, hoping to see something that would give her some type of clue as to where she was. All she could see was the same line of trees and what appeared to be hilly terrain surrounding her. No roads, no cars, no houses, no nothing. After a few more investigative trips around her lonely room and a few more inspections of the door behind which she was locked, she determined the only thing she could do was wait. She just didn't know how much  
longer she could hold out.

"Penelope, you have to pay more attention to your surroundings", Derek had once told her. After being shot she had told Derek and Reid that she didn't see things like they did, she didn't profile everyone she saw. But if she was ever going to think like a profiler, now was the time._ "If I ever...no WHEN I get out of here...I'll need to be able to tell the team everything I can so they can catch this guy,"_ she thought to herself.

So, to occupy her mind during her time, Penelope had done the best she could to memorize everything she could about her room, down to the smallest detail. By this point she could tell you how many planks there were in the wood floor and how many fabric patches made up the quilt on bed. She wasn't sure what good any of it would do but she wanted to make Derek proud of her, WHEN, she saw him again. "_And I will see him again" she told herself over and over again_.

Finally, it must have been some time around noon as best as Penelope could tell by the position of the sunlight coming in the window, she heard a sound coming from outside her door. Gripped with both fear and a strange sense of relief, Garcia prepared herself for what was to come. Having abandoned the idea of surprising the Unsub from the bed, she was now positioned behind the door, spring in hand. She had slightly uncoiled one end of each spring so she could use them as a dagger if she had to. Penelope desperately tried to remember some of the self defense tricks that Derek had tried so hard to teach her.

"_Now, Garcia, remember if you do have to physically attack a male aggressor, chances are they are going to be stronger than you. If there's an object you can make use of...a bat, a heavy book, a swinging door...do it. Sometimes there's nothing available, then you just have to use your own body which makes it much more difficult but there are some moves I can show you. For instance, the back sides of each knee are weak spots and good ways to bring anyone down. Hit a man behind the knee and he'll crumple to the ground every time...but you have to hit him HARD Penelope! Remember, he's attacking you, he wants to HURT you. Good. Now there's also several pressure points if you can get to them..._  
_right behind the ear, at the hinge of the jaw and on the wrist for example. These are more difficult to master but if you can, you can bring someone to extreme pain in just a few seconds. I know you don't want to hurt anyone Baby Girl but this is not game...sometimes you have to in order to save yourself! And finally, there's always a good kick or knee to the groin. It's crude but effective."_

Penelope quickly ran through all of the scenarios she could remember, she just wished she had taken it all more seriously like Derek had asked of her. But there was no time for regrets now, she would just have to do whatever she could. She planted her feet to the ground and stood ready for whatever was about to happen.

The footsteps outside the door stopped. "Caroline, honey,are you awake?"

"Caroline? Who's Caroline?", Penelope thought to herself. Instinct almost immediately had her call back through the door that that wasn't her name but thought better of it just in time. She needed him to open the door so she played along.

"Uh, yeah, I'm awake. I was getting worried when you weren't here when I woke up" Penelope spoke back through teh closed door. "I'm really hungry and need to use the bathroom. Could you let me out, please?" It was a longshot, she knew, but you never knew until you asked, right?

"I don't know, Caroline. You have to promise not to run away like you did last time. I spent so long looking for you, I don't want that to happen again," came the answer back.

Penelope had not a clue what this man was talking about but knew she needed to get him open the door if she ever had a chance of getting out. "I promise, I won't run. I just need to use the bathroom. You can't keep me in here for ever. And don't you want to see me?" Penelope wasn't sure if logic would work with an apparently insane unsub who thought she was someone else but she had to try.

"Well, of course I want to see you Caroline. Ive been waiting so long for you to come back to me. Okay, I'm coming in, I just need you to step away from the door."

Of course Penelope didn't budge but told him she was. She took a deep breath and readied herself. She heard the key turn in the door lock and watched as the door knob turned. She allowed the door to open about halfway before throwing her full body weight back into it slamming it back into the Unsub. She heard him fall to the floor with a thud and took the chance to jump out from behind the door before it came slamming back into her.

She could see her captor now, laying on his back on the floor, holding a blood-streaming nose. While having won a minor victory, she realized that his prone body was now blocking most of the doorway, and that he was ANGRY.

"You BITCH!" he screamed through the hands he held up to his nose. "I should have known better than to trust you! You'll pay for this!" The unsub had rage in his eyes as he raised himself up to a sitting position and then began to stand.

Penelope knew she had to act fast. Bringing her foot back she kicked with as much force as possible aiming for his groin. Hearing him yelp with pain she knew she had hit her mark but not wanting to take any chances she swung the spring she still held with as much power as she could muster feeling the end catch on the Unsub's shoulder. With a jerk she pulled up her hand and knew by the tension she felt on the spring that the metal was tearing skin as it moved along his shoulder.

With the unsub bent over and screaming in pain, she knew it was now or never. Looking through the doorway into the next room she was relieved to see a door leading to the outside just ahead of her. Sidestepping the moaning Unsub, she started to run as fast as she could for daylight. She was across the room and almost to the door when a hand reached out and grabbed her left ankle tripping her face first into the hard wooden floor of the cabin. Screaming as she went down, Penelope kicked with all she had, trying to release the Unsub's grip from her leg.

Finally, one of her kicks landed onto the Unsub's already broken nose, causing him to black out with pain and allowing her to get free. Pulling herself back up, she was able to get out of the door, across a crudely made front porch and into the midst of the hilly terrain she had seen outside her bedroom prison window. Taking a quick survey of her surroundings she saw no vehicle, no way out other than on foot. So on foot she ran and ran, praying she would find someone or something that could help her.

_TBC..._

_So I have to be honest, the muse took this one in totally different direction than I had originally_ _planned so I hope you are happy with the way it turned out. Please send me a review and let me know_.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6 _Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds...what a shame_

"Garrett Phillips", said the Crime Lab tech as he handed the folder over to Hotch. As Hotch flipped through the few pages in the folder the tech continued. "There's not much there, he has only been arrested once, a few months ago for disorderly conduct. Evidently he was raising some kind of ruckus outside his old girlfriend's apartment. There is a home address, though. My boss took the liberty of letting the local law enforcement know. He said to tell you they're headed there now."

"Thanks" Hotch nodded his approval at the tech who then turned and left.

"Okay, he's right, there isn't much," Hotch advised solemnly as he put the folder on the war room table so the team could get a look at the Unsub's mugshot photo. Looking at his team he began handing out instructions. "JJ, you and Reid take what information there is and go see Karen Simpson. Have her start a computer search to find out anything she can about this Garrett Phillips. Also, see if she has ever seen him before or knows him herself. Rossi and Alex, I want you to make sure that all the other agencies have copies of this. Help coordinate their search efforts." "Derek, I want you to go and help the locals with the search of Phillips' apartment."

Derek was up and out of his chair in a second and headed for the door. Hotch stepped in front of him before he could exit. "But Derek, if you find anything, I expect you to notify us before doing anything. Understood? I'll have no hero antics on this, no vigilante rescue attempts."

"Yeah, Hotch, I got it. I just need to be out there doing something. I'm going crazy just sitting here." After a quick once over, Hotch was satisfied Derek was okay and gave him a barely perceptible nod silently giving Derek the go ahead.

As everyone began to head out to their respective assignments, Hotch told them to all meet back in the war room in 2 hours if they hadn't found something sooner.

It was nearly dawn as Derek arrived at Garrett Phillips apartment. He was tired and agitated but most of all he was scared. It wasn't like Derek Morgan to admit he was scared but there was no other word describe what he was feeling. He was scared of what was happening to Penelope, he was scared that he wouldn't find her in time but more than anything he was scared that he would never have the chance to tell her all of the things he should have told her years ago. As the sun came up on a new day he vowed then and there that the first thing he would do when he found his Baby Girl would be to tell her how he really felt about her. And the second thing would be to spend the rest of her life proving it to her over and over again.

An hour and half after scattering his team with instructions to find out all they could about Garrett Phillips, the BAU team was reassembled in the war room. Wasting no time with formalities, Hotch turned to JJ and Reid and asked them to let everyone know what they had found.

"it turns out that Karen did know Garrett Phillips. He and his girlfriend Caroline had been at her party last year when they got in a fight. Caroline had been drinking heavily and after the fight, she took his keys and drove off in his car. She was found dead the next morning after having driven the car off an embankment. According to Karen, Garrett went off the deep end following her death. He even convinced himself that she wasn't dead and that she was out there somewhere. He spent all his time looking for her. It was so bad he lost his job and alienated most of his friends and family," JJ explained.

"So what does any of this have to do with Penelope and how does it help us find her?" Derek interrupted impatiently.

"Derek, I'm getting there," JJ said. "We think that Garrett showed up at Karen's party tonight to look for Caroline. Karen said she didn't see him but she couldn't be sure because everyone was in costume. What she did remember, however, is that Garcia's costume was a cat, very similar to the one Caroline had been wearing last year. Garcia and Caroline evidently don't look much alike but with Garrett's state of mind and with them both having blonde hair and similar costumes, we think he saw Garcia and convinced himself he had found Caroline. He must of followed her out to her car and taken her from there." JJ took a breath as she let the information sink in with all of her team mates.

Shifting uneasily in his chair, Rossi spoke the question that was on everyone's mind, "Well that gives us the who and why, but with no answer as to where we're back at square one. What now?"

"That's the reason it took us an hour with Karen before we called everyone back," answered Reid. "As soon as Karen told us what she remembered, we had her start looking for any property or locations that Phillips either owned, leased or even just frequented where we thought he could take Garcia."

"And?" Derek broke in.

"Other than his apartment, there are no mortgages or leases in his name. However, we did notice that there were several credit card purchases made in and around the George Washington National Forest area about 100 miles north of DC. One gas purchase made shortly after 11:00 last night. A little more digging and Karen was able to tell us that Phillips' has an uncle that owns a cabin deep in the woods near Wilmington. We believe that's where he took her, " Reid finished his explanation.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Derek said, already half way out of his chair. The others followed. They had all been up all night already but with the news of having possibly located Garcia and her captor, they were all running on adrenaline and ready to go.

Once they were in the government issued SUVs and headed north, Hotch Derek and Rossi in one, Alex, JJ and Reid following, Hotch connected them all by speaker phone. "According to what Karen found out from the local authorities, the cabin is not going to be easy to get to. The cabin is very isolated with no public roadways in or out. We've already got the authorities headed that way but we've told them not to approach the cabin until we get there. If it's as isolated as they say, he could be bunkered in and we'll end up with a mini Ruby Ridge standoff on our hands. We'll all move in together as soon as we get there. Remember, our ONLY objective at this point is to get Penelope home safely. Understood?" Everyone answered with a curt "Yes, sir." The remainder of their trip was made mostly in silence as each member of the team prayed, meditated or did whatever they did in times such as these and hoped their tech was still alive and safe.

By 12:07 pm, the team and local authorities had the cabin surrounded. The trek to get to the cabin had not been easy, especially the last half mile with hardly more than a barely worn foot path to lead them in. They had detected no movement inside the cabin but with the use of infrared equipment they had been able to detect at least one warm spot inside the cabin which they believed to be a person. If it was Penelope, they had no way of knowing.

At 12:15 pm exactly, Hotch gave the signal to go in. Derek led the team, guns drawn, onto the porch. With he and Rossi situated on each side of the door he gave a quick nod, quickly turned towards the door and kicked it in. The team rushed in. Being the first one in, Derek nearly tripped over the unconscious man laying on the floor just inside the door. Bending down he quickly placed two fingers on the man's neck. Feeling a pulse pound underneath his fingers, he motioned to Hotch that the man was alive as he stood back up and headed for the only other door that led off the main room of the cabin. If Penelope was here, this is where he knew she had to be. Wasting no time he kicked open the bedroom door only to find an empty room. With a heavy heart he shouted "Clear" to let the others know the room was empty, holstered his weapon and headed back out to where Hotch was checking on the man on the floor.

"Is it Phillips?" He asked Hotch

"Yeah but he's not going to be telling us anything for a while," Hotch stated, concern etched upon his face. "I'm not completely sure what happened here, but it looks like some of that defensive training you were trying to teach Garcia may have worked. His nose is shattered, he's lost a lot of blood from a severe laceration on his right shoulder that appears to have been made with this rusty spring we found laying near the bedroom door and he's evidently got quite a bit of damage to the groin area." Hotch made the last observation with just the slightest bit of a grin.

"That's our girl," Rossi said under his breath.

"Unfortunately, escaping may have been the worst thing Garcia could have done at this point," Hotch said as he looked up at Derek.

Taking a look at his surroundings, Derek ran his palm over the back of his neck knowing his superior agent was probably right. Noting the terrain they had come in to get to the cabin and the vastness of the forest surrounding the area, Derek knew that Penelope may have just jumped out of the frying pan right into a much bigger fire. If she was roaming the woods and they couldn't find her before nightfall, she very well may not survive the night. Hypotheremia, dangerous wildlife and countless other hazards were a bigger danger to Penelope right now than Garrett Phillips ever was.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. I just borrow them for a while and then put them back nicely on the shelf _

_Wow! Thanks to everyone for your wonderful reviews! I'm so happy to know that you are enjoying this story. Keep 'em coming. Now on with the show…_

Penelope ran for as long and hard as she could before she finally had to stop from sheer exhaustion. She hadn't had anything to eat or drink for over 12 hours (other than the few sips of water she had taken while waiting for her captor) and even then it was only an alcoholic drink and Halloween candy.

Although It appeared to be the middle of the day, with the dense overhead foliage even the bright Autumn sunshine was having a hard time getting to her. And she was still dressed mostly in her costume from the night before consisting of black tights, a pair of black flimsy flats, a short black dress and a light overcoat. Not hiking gear for sure!

The killer headache she was starting to experience wasn't helping things either. Putting her hand to her forehead, she was surprised to feel something wet. Bringing her hand down in front of her face she noticed quite a bit of blood covering her fingers. "_I must have cut my forehead when he pulled me down in the cabin,"_ she reasoned. _"Dehydrated, hungry and bleeding profusely from a head wound. Garcia you could be in a lot of trouble here", _she thought to herself.

Knowing that if she couldn't find help, she would at least have to find shelter and water before nightfall, she took a good look at her surroundings. What she saw wasn't very encouraging, nothing but woods and rough terrain all around her. The thought of turning around and heading back to the cabin and the madman that waited within briefly crossed her mind. Taking another look around, however, she quickly realized that she had been running blindly with no real sense of which way she came or how to get back even if she wanted to. Realizing the grim reality of her situation, emotion overtook her and she fell to her knees and cried.

_CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM CMCMCMCMCMCMCCMCM_

"Why the hell are we all just standing around here, Hotch?" Derek asked in anger. "Penelope's out there somewhere, possibly hurt, and we're just all standing her doing nothing!" Derek slammed the cabin wall beside him in frustration.

"And what would you suggest, Derek? That the rest of us run off blindly and get ourselves lost as well? What kind of help is that going to be for Garcia?" Hotch answered in a stern voice. Softening his demeanor a little, he moved towards Derek and put a hand on the younger agent's shoulder. "Look, Derek, I know how you feel, we're all anxious to find her, but you have to see that we have to go about this in the right way. As soon as the dogs can pick up a scent or we find something to tell us which direction she's headed we'll head out. But until then we're not going to run off half-cocked. But we WILL find her, Derek. I promise."

Nodding his head in silence, Derek moved out onto the porch and watched the activity that was going on around him. Rescue dogs had been called in to try and pick up Penelope's scent and they and their handlers were scurrying around the edges of the woodlines. Park Rangers, specialists in this area of the woods and in traversing rough terrain were on the ready to help the search once the dogs picked up a scent. A helicopter was just taking off with Garrett Phillips in tow. He would be taken to a local hospital where he would be patched up and sent to local officials for holding until he could be released to the FBI. He had been questioned but had refused to cooperate.

Derek could see all of these things happening and in his mind, he knew that everything was being done that possibly could be. In his heart, however, all he could think about was Penelope and how cold and alone and scared she must be. He was so proud of the fight that she evidently put up to save herself from unknown horrors but what did it get her? Now she was out there, somewhere, and he could do nothing but stand around and wait. He didn't know how much longer he could stand this. _"Hang on, Baby Girl, I'm coming and I will find you. Just hang on a little longer…" _Derek prayed.

CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM

"_Damnit, Garcie! Enough feeling sorry for yourself_! Garcia scolded herself as she lifted herself back to her feet. _"I've got to keep moving if I'm going to get out of here." _Feeling a little dizzy as she stood, she could tell that her head was still bleeding. As the sun moved across the horizon, she could also feel colder air and a stiff breeze starting to move in. Putting her hands in her coat pockets for warmth she felt a piece of cloth. Pulling it out, she saw that it was a scarf she had forgotten she had. Quickly she took the scarf and tied it around her head, hoping it would help to slow the bleeding from her wound. Once that was done, she took a few minutes to orient herself and then headed off in what she hoped was the best direction.

After what seemed like a couple of hours ( Penelope still had no way to really know what time it was or how much time had passed) she had pushed her body almost to it's limits. Her feet were scraped and blistered, her knees hurt, her face was wind burnt and her lips severely chapped and even though the bleeding had mostly stopped, the pounding in her head just continued to worsen. She had even experienced a few spells of dizziness and blurred vision. Even so, she just kept on pushing on. She knew she had to find water and some shelter before darkness fell on this first day of November.

Finally, she thought she heard what sounded like running water. Stopping , she stood and listened as she tried to determine what direction the sound was coming from. It was difficult with the increasing wind but she thought it sounded as if it were coming from somewhere to her left. Heading in that direction she walked for a few hundred feet until she came upon a ravine. Floating up from the bottom she could definitely hear what sounded like water running in a stream or creek.

"_I've got to get to some water," _she told herself. Kneeling down she peered over the edge of the chasm. Penelope's heart sank when she saw it looked like a drop straight down of about 30 feet to get to the water at the bottom. _"There's no way I can get down there", _she concluded as she continued to look longingly down at the clear water below. Penelope decided to follow the edge of the ravine for a little ways to see if the landscape became any more friendly and allowing her access to the bottom. As she stood, another bout of dizziness over took her weary body. Before she could move away from the edge of the jagged cliff, she blacked out, crashing forward, over the edge and into the foreboding chasm.

_TBC…._

_Okay, hate me yet? Another cliff hanger (literally I guess!). Sorry but you know what they say…things have to get worse before they get better. I'll see if I can't talk to the muse into working towards a more positive spin for the next chapter. She doesn't always listen…but we'll see !_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: I really have to say it again? I do not now, nor ever have I , owned criminal minds. Just the crazy little plot bunnies that keep putting poor Penelope In harm's way._

_Finally, things may start to look up for our heroine…._

Hearing the bloodhounds raising a fuss, Derek looked up to see Reid headed his way. "They've picked up a scent!" Reid let everyone know.

It was almost 3 p.m. , daylight was fading fast and most of the team had been up 36 hours or more straight. Even so, there wasn't a single member of the BAU team, Penelope's family, that wasn't ready to head out and make the trek through the ominous woods to find their team member in need.

"Okay, Derek, you and Sgt. Collins take the point, right behind the bloodhounds., " directed Hotch as he indicated the head of the Search and Rescue team that had been called in, Andy Collins. "The rest of us will spread out in a V pattern behind you. If anyone sees or hears anything , give a whistle. Got it?"

The rest of the team and other local authorities involved in the search all nodded in agreement while making a last minute check on boots, hiking equipment and any other gear they would be taking into the forest with them. Just before they headed out, Sgt. Andy Collins turned and addressed the group. "These woods are dense, full of undergrowth and can get dark and cold really quickly. We're using a buddy system. There will be at least two of you together at all times. No loners, absolutely no exceptions! Understood? We don't want to be starting a second search party. Also, I'd say we have about two to two and half hours of what daylight does penetrate into these wood s at best. Once the sun goes down, we're out until daylight, it's just too dangerous. So when I say it's time to go, we go. No questions asked. "

"Then I suggest we get moving now, Sgt.," Derek urged as he knew there was no way in hell he was coming out of those woods without his Baby Girl in tow tonight. With a quick nod of agreement from the Sgt, the search into the woods began.

After about an hour of searching the difficult terrain, Derek was getting extremely frustrated. It felt as if they were going in circles and it was taking twice as long because the dogs kept losing the scent due to the swirling winds that had been picking up throughout the afternoon. Every step deeper into the foreboding woodlands made Derek more and more nervous for Penelope. _"How is she ever going to survive this?", _he thought to himself with dread. "_I'm dressed and prepared for this and working with a help of someone with expert knowledge of this land and we're still having a hard time getting anywhere. Poor Penelope must be frozen to the bone and scared witless. Keep hanging on, Sweetheart, just a short while more. We're coming…"_

By 5:00 pm, Sgt. Collins was getting ready to call in the searchers and head back to the cabin. "I'm sorry, Agent Hotchner, but it's getting too dark and someone's going to get hurt or lost if we don't head out now."

"C'mon, Hotch. Ten more minutes, okay? I know we have to be close. There's no way she could have gotten much farther than this," Derek broke in and pleaded with his boss. "Please, Hotch. I have this really bad feeling that if we don't find her now it's going to be too late."

"Derek, I'm sorry, I have no choi….." Hotch began before being interrupted by a sharp whistle coming from about 100 yards to his left.

"Hotch! Morgan!" they heard Rossi shout as they saw the older man motion them his way.

Running towards Rossi, they could see that he was holding something in his hand. "What did you find, Dave?" Hotch inquired.

"I think it's one of Penelope's shoes. JJ recognized it from her costume last night. It was on the edge of the ravine right over here. " As Dave held up the shoe for their inspection they heard another whistle coming from near the ravine's edge.

"Get us some light over here!" yelled one of the searchers, "I think I see something". Immediately a battery-powered spotlight was supplied by one of the Rangers. Shining the light down into the deep chasm in front of them, they could just make out what appeared to be a crumpled body laying at the base of the cliff.

"It's her!" , shouted JJ as she peered over the edge. "Rope, we need rope and harnesses, NOW!"

Derek approached the edge of the ravine and looked over. He gasped at what he saw below him. It was his Baby Girl alright but she wasn't moving, there was blood on her face and her left leg was bent at a terrible angle underneath her and she was laying half submerged in a stream of what must be very cold water. Worst of all, she wasn't moving. "Penelope! Baby Girl, can you hear me?" He shouted down praying he would get some type of response. There was no movement that he could see. "Hurry up!" he shouted to the rescue team who was prepping the rappelling equipment behind him. "We've got to get down there, NOW!"

"Derek, let them do their work. They'll get to her," Rossi encouraged as he pulled Derek out of the way of the rescue team.

Derek turned to the older agent, tears in his eyes, "What if it's too late Rossi? What if we didn't make it on time?"

"She's tough, Derek, tougher than any of us ever knew. We saw what she did to Phillips. She's didn't escape from him not to make it home now. She's come too far not to get back to the man she loves."

""Loves?" What are you talking about Rossi?" Derek said with a surprised look on his face.

"Oh, c'mon Derek, don't tell me you don't realize how she feels about you, how she's always felt about you. She's in love with you, Derek. It doesn't take a genius like Reid to see it. And if my Italian instincts are right, and they usually are in such matters, the feeling is mutual. All of us have always wondered why the two of you kept dancing around it but we all saw it, plain as day. The two of you are as in love as any two people I've ever seen. Penelope's not going to give that up, " he said with a compassionate smile. He just prayed that Penelope really was alive and that she'd be able to recover so that he could see his two teammates finally get together like they should have been years ago.

"So, am I wrong, Derek?"

Hearing the words actually spoken out loud and coming from someone else gave Derek the strength and validation to admit what he had stubbornly been denying for so long. "No, Dave, you are right. I do love her and have for a very long time. But what if I've waited too long to let her know?"

Before Rossi could answer, a shout came up from the bottom of the ravine. "She's alive…just barely, but she's alive. We're getting her in the stokes basket and bringing her up! Someone radio ahead and have the medic chopper waiting. We need to get her out of here asap!"

Cheers arose from the BAU team and Derek even looked skyward whispering a barely audible, "Thank God" under his breath. He watched as the rescue team brought Penelope up from the bottom of the ravine and was the first one top to help pull the stokes up over the edge. Kneeling down next to her he ran his hand gently along the cold skin of her cheek. "It's okay, Baby, you're going to be alright" he whispered to her as he gently took her hand in his.

As the rescue team prepared Penelope for the trek back towards the cabin, Derek felt an ever-so-slight squeeze on his hand. It was so light, he wasn't even sure he hadn't imagined it until he saw Penelope's eyes flutter open.

"Derek? " she barely managed to say in a weak, hoarse whisper.

"Shhh, Baby Girl, rest easy. You're okay now, we've got you." Derek said in a soothing tone as a tear of relief ran down his cheek.

A slight smile appeared on her cracked lips as she looked up at her noir hero. "My Love," she managed to squeak out just before she lapsed back into unconsciousness.

Knowing in his heart that everything was going to be okay, Derek's tears ran uncontrollably as he leaned over and gave her a tender kiss on her forehead. "Let's get her out of this god-forsaken place!" he said as he rose from beside her. Each member of the team quickly took their place on each side of the stokes rescue basket to help carry her out of the woods, happy to have their team, even a slightly broken team, all back together again.

_The END?_

_I had every intention of continuing this story but as I read this chapter it just seems like a good closing point. What do you think? Please review and let me know your opinion. Thanks!_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds_

_Okay, so the vote was unanimous to keep going with the story. The muse seems okay with it so onward we go __ Thanks for the support and liking it enough for me to continue!_

It was now 10:00 p.m. and a full 24 hours after Penelope was first supposed to have shown up at Derek's apartment on Halloween night. To most of the BAU team , it felt more like a week instead of just a day ago that all this had happened.

After getting Penelope out of the woods and back to the medic chopper, she was airlifted out and brought back to a local Quantico hospital where she could be seen by doctors specifically requested by the FBI. Due to lack of space, Derek was the only team member allowed to ride along on the helicopter. The rest of the team made the long drive back to the city in their SUV's. Weary as they all were, however, no one wanted to go home until they made sure Penelope's condition was stable and so they all drove straight to the hospital where they met up with Derek in the waiting room.

"How is she?" asked JJ as soon as they saw Derek .

"I don't know," he said impatiently. "As soon as we got here they took her back and I haven't heard a word since."

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Derek," Alex tried to console her new co-worker.

"What did the paramedics on the chopper have to say?" inquired Hotch.

"Nothing very good that I could tell," Derek sighed as he remembered the flight in and watching the paramedics work hurriedly over Penelope. "They really didn't have much time to answer many questions but they did mention that she was suffering from hypothermia, had a pretty nasty head wound and that her leg had multiple fractures and she'd lost quite a bit of blood from those. They were also worried she may have a few broken ribs and some possible internal bleeding from the fall, " Derek leaned back against the wall as he told the team of Penelope's condition. It was if any strength he had left was draining out of his body at just that moment. He had been running on fear and adrenaline for so long that now that he had finally stopped, his body was just giving up.

"C'mon, Derek, sit down over here," said Rossi as he took Derek by the arm and led him to a nearby chair. After he got him seated, Rossi knelt down in front of Morgan. "Derek, why don't you let one of us take you home. You're completely exhausted and you need some rest. One of us wil stay and if anything happens, anything at all, we'll let you know."

"Yeah, Morgan, I can stay with her. I don't usually get much sleep anyways so I don't have any problem taking first watch, " Reid offered.

"NO!" Derek practically yelled as he looked up at his team members with a scared look in his eyes. "I can't leave her. I WONT leave her! She never regained consciousness during the flight in. I have to see for myself that's she's awake and okay. I have too many things I have to say to her and I'm not going to miss my chance again!" Derek slumped forward after his declaration, putting his head in his hands. Everyone could see a slight quivering in his shoulders.

JJ stepped forward and sat down in the chair next to Derek. Putting her arm around his shoulder, she just held him for a minute while he collected himself. "Derek, Penelope's going to be fine, I just know it. What has happened in the last 24 hours has been among the worst things that have ever happened in any of our lives. We are a family and when one of hurts, we all do. But do you remember what Penelope told you after she got shot? That everything happens for a reason?"

Derek lifted his head turned to look at JJ as he nodded in remembrance.

"Well, I think there's a really big reason for all that happened today. All of this has finally made you, and I suspect Penelope too, realize how you really feel for each other, how much you really care. Penelope IS going to get better and when she does, you are going to be able to tell her just how you feel and Penelope is going to be the happiest woman in the world to hear it!", JJ assured the grieving man.

"You really think so, JJ?"

"I know so, Derek," she said as she squeezed his shoulders.

Just then a doctor wearing blood-splattered, green scrubs and a surgical mask hanging loosely around his neck entered the waiting room. "I'm told that you are the ones waiting to hear about Penelope Garcia?"

Derek immediately jumped out of his chair. "Yes. How is she, doc? Is she going to be okay?" Derek shot out questions in rapid fire succession.

Holding up his hands to slow down Derek's barrage, the doctor said, "Eventually, yes, she's going to be fine."

There was an audible sigh of relief from every member of the team and then Hotch turned to the doctor and asked, "What exactly do you mean by 'eventually', doctor?"

"Well, she's got a long road of recovery ahead of her. She had a lot of injuries. We were able to get her body temperature back up to normal so the hypothermia isn't a problem anymore but she had multiple fractures in her left leg. It's a good thing you found her when you did, much longer and she would have most likely bled to death from those wounds alone. We've splinted and immobilized the leg and done the best we could for now with it but we really need to do surgery in order to fix it right and that's something we just can't do right now, " he explained.

Before he could say anything further, Derek broke in, "Why not, doc? If she needs surgery, then do it! If it's a problem with money, don't worry about it, I'll take care of whatever she needs."

"It's not the money, Agent Morgan, " the doctor countered. "We would never hold up necessary treatment for monetary concerns. Ms. Garcia has sustained a substantial head wound which in turn caused her a pretty significant concussion. Right now it's just too risky to put her under anesthesia. Hopefully in a couple of days we'll be able to, but not right now."

"What about her ribs, doctor? The paramedics told Agent Morgan they were concerned with possible internal bleeding caused from broken ribs." Hotch inquired.

"Yes, she does have a few broken ribs but luckily they didn't puncture anything and we're pretty certain she's not bleeding internally into the abdomen. Other than that, there are several cuts, bruises and contusions that are going to need time to heal. We are moving her to intensive care right now. She'll be there for the next few days until we can make sure she's stable and that her concussion is healing, " the doctor advised.

"Is she awake?", Derek asked in anticipation

Shaking his head, the doctor answered, "No, and right now with the concussion, I really can't tell you when she will be. It's one of the reasons we are moving her to intensive care. "

"Can I see her doctor?" Derek asked

The doctor started to refuse but one good look at the weary and worried man in front of him told him all that he needed to know about the bond between his patient and this agent. "Yes, I'll let you see her. One of you can stay with her at all times, but only one, okay? She needs her rest and quiet. And from the looks of all of you I would say that wouldn't be bad advice for the rest of you."

"Thank you, doctor, " Hotch said as he shook the man's hand. "I think we'll take your advice."

The doctor looked back at Derek, "Agent, give us about 20 minutes to get Ms. Garcia settled in her room and then one of the nurses will come and get you. My name is Dr. Robinson and if you need anything, you just let me know." And with that, the doctor turned and headed back down the hospital corridor.

"Okay, everyone," Hotch turned to his team, "let's all go home and get some rest. Derek, I expect you to get some as well. I know you want to be there for Penelope but you're not going to be any goo d to her or anyone else if you make yourself sick with exhaustion. I'll get one of the nurses to put an extra cot in her room. I'll com e back first thing in the morning with a change of clothes for you. The rest of you, go home and get some sleep. "

"Thanks, man, " Derek responded to Hotch. And with that, everyone left Derek with a handshake or a hug and headed out to recuperate and give thanks for whatever powers that be for bringing Penelope back to them.

_TBC…._

_Next: Morgan and Garcia start on their road to recovery. _


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Derek approached the door to Penelope's room in ICU with trepidation. Sure he had seen her in a hospital bed before, back when Battle shot her, but this was different. Then she had at least been conscious and talking to them and other than the tubes leading to and from her gunshot wounds, there really were no outwardly visible signs of the trauma she had endured.

Now, as he rounded the corner from the hallway into her room he could hear nothing more than the mechanical sounds of the machines connected to her. As he entered, the first sight of her stopped him in his tracks. She was deathly pale with a large bandage wrapped around her head. Her lips were chapped and cracking from the exposure to the wind and cold and there was small spots of white on them where he could tell the medical staff had applied some type of salve to help in their healing. Her left leg was splinted from hip to ankle and was elevated. If all of that wasn't bad enough, closer inspection revealed that her fingernails were all ragged, broken or even bleeding and on just about any piece of exposed skin he could see there were larges cuts and/or bruises. The sight of his Baby Girl in such a state took his breath away. Still, on some levels, she was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. She was alive and he had another chance and that was all that mattered.

Collecting himself, Derek took the lone chair in the room and moved it next to the bed. Hotch had been true to his word and an extra cot had been provided but Derek needed to be with his Baby Girl, to touch her and watch her breath just to prove to himself that she was going to be alright. Gently taking her hand in his, he spoke softly to her.

"Penelope, Baby Girl, you don't have to worry anymore. You're safe now. I want you to rest and take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere and I promise I'll be right here whenever you wake up." A single tear slipped from Derek's eye as he spoke with her. "Baby, I'm so proud of you. You fought so hard and were so strong but you don't have to fight anymore. I'm not going to let anyone ever hurt you again. You just trust in me and I'll make everything all better, I promise. I love you Penelope Garcia, with all my heart and all my soul, I love you and I have from the day I first saw you. I don't know why it's taken me so long to realize it but you are the only woman I've ever wanted, ever NEEDED, and I will spend every waking hour of every day proving that to you when you feel you are ready to come back to me.

I don't know if you can hear me right now or not but I have a feeling you're in there, listening to every word I say. We have a connection, a bond, you and me. I know there are times when I'm on a case and we're thousands of miles apart but I can sense when something's wrong. Or there are those times that you call and talk to me at just the right time and I didn't even know I needed someone to talk to, but you did, and you always make me feel better and leave me with a smile. Penelope, I told you once that you are my God-given Solace and that is so true. You are everything that is good and right and happy in my life. Baby-girl, I'll say it again, I love you! And you better get used to it because I'm going to keep saying it every day for the rest of our lives. "

Derek brought his lips down to the back of Penelope's hand and kissed her ever so gently. As he did a small groan escaped from her and although she didn't open her eyes, Derek could feel the slightest squeeze around his fingers. "Yes, Penelope, I know you heard me, " he said with a very large smile on his face. "Now you take it easy. I'm not going anywhere, we can talk later" and with that she shifted ever so slightly and seemed to drift off into a more comfortable sleep. Derek could have sworn that he also saw just the slightest hint of a smile cross her lips. Derek then laid his head down on the bed beside her, never letting go of her hand and drifted off into the most peaceful, restful sleep he'd had in a long time.

THE END!

_Okay, so the plan was to keep this going a little longer but I just didn't feel it needed to be strung out unnecessarily. I hope you are not too disappointed. For those of you who reviewed, commented and favorite, thank you so much! It was a fun one to write. Hopefully my muse will provide me with inspiration for another story soon. Until then, If you haven't already, I hope you'll take time to read some of my older stories. They fall along the same lines as this one and I think you'll enjoy them. ___ _


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